Because this is all I have to offer…………a whole bag of nothing

Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, August 7, 2019

One week from yesterday will be the first day of school for most of my family. Wow, August 13th, it just seems too darn early to start school. Granted, the last day of school is something like May 21, but it just feels weird starting school before the actual middle of August.

It looks like I will no longer be driving the kids to school in the morning, which was a fantastic way to start off my day. I’m going to miss that, it was great bonding time. WifeGeeding accepted a job to be a kindergarten teacher at our kids’ school so there’s no effective reason for me to drive them to school anymore. And, as the middle school and high school are on the same campus, I may never have to drop them off every again if WifeGeeding works at the school until our children graduate. Sure, there will be exceptions, and I’ll cherish those time, but a part of my daily routine has been taken away.

It pains me to admit it, but in an effort to be transparent, when I dropped them off at school I feared it would be the last time I see them. Mass shootings are everywhere, no place is immune. Many people tend to think such a thing will not happen to them, but I’m the type of person who thinks that sort of stuff would happen to me. I’m not an optimist, I’m a pessimist, always preparing myself for the worst and being thankful for anything which comes out half as well as I expect it.

At least the first week of school will only have one day of triple digits, the first day of school is Tuesday for us.

We all know one or two people at work who will “Reply All” when it’s not needed. Please don’t be one of those people.

Current Mount Vernon Tigers head football coach Art Briles talked to the media for the first time on Monday. The media was told to ask questions only relating to Mount Vernon football, but one reporter out of Waco believed she found a loophole when she asked, “You guys are the Tigers. Any talk about changing (the team’s name) to the Scapegoats?” Many in sports media expressed disappointment with her question, but she defended it by stating, “No bad intent. Many in Waco feel Briles was a scapegoat. Media were told not to ask questions about BU sex scandal, only MV football-related questions, so using the mascot was simply a “sporty” way of opening the door for Briles to respond to the theory of being a scapegoat.“

Random fact about Mount Vernon, Texas – It was originally called Keith. Someone must have realized what a pathetic and prosaic sounding name that was and decided to change it to Lone Star, and then later to its current name.

Sony has developed a wearable mini/portable air conditioner to fit on the back of a shirt, just below the neck. It looks like it wouldn’t be noticeable with a dress shirt on, but I’m curious to know the noise level and battery life of the thing. It’s probably in the article, but I’m too lazy to read it. Sometimes I just try to find stuff to post or link to so none of y’all yell at me.

I got stuck watching some sort of WWII documentary on the Smithsonian Channel. The narrator stated in 1939, 75% of the men in the military didn’t finish high school, 41% never even started it.

2 Responses to Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, August 7, 2019

No yelling here! I’ve said it before, its got to be a beating to find stuff everyday to post. I’ve been looking for cooling vest or something similar to the Sony AC for a while now. I clicked and read!
I hope Briles wins a state championship.

When we were at Disney World last year, I saw several people with a battery operated evaporative cooler that you could wear around your neck. It was similar to the manual misting fans that Disney sells for a fortune, but with a more constant regulated flow of water. I need to read up more on the one you posted, but that looks like it’s something more intricate since it can provide heat and cold.

When my wife first started teaching 18 years ago, the start of school started creeping back earlier in August and then a few years in, there was an effort to push it back toward the end of the month. I remember a few years where they started the Monday prior to Labor Day weekend. Now it seems the start is moving back the other direction. It’s nice that they get a full 2 weeks at Christmas and they get out by the end of May, but it has to cost school districts a fortune to cool their buildings when they’re full of kids for so much of the month of August.